We can often forget the beauty of our natural forces, but these jaw-dropping shots from the Weather Photographer of the Year competition will remind you just how dazzling our planet’s skies can be.
Photographs by a selection of finalists have been revealed in the running for this year’s hotly coveted title, with shots ranging from starry night skies punctuated by lightening bolts to snowy natural sculptures tumbling in gale-force winds.
More than 800 photographs were submitted to the competition, creating a tough job for the judges from the Royal Photographic Society, who narrowed down the extensive longlist into a shortlist of just 23.
Having whittled down the selection, the judges are now asking the public to pick a winner in an online vote.
The prize winners and the overall Weather Photographer of the Year 2016 will be announced at the Amateur Meteorologists’ Conference in Reading in September, and you can catch all of the photographs in an exhibition which will go on tour later this year.
Click through our gallery above and vote for your favourite shot here.
Find out more about the Weather Photographer of the Year competition at rps.org
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